Hopper vs Google Flights For Deals

Greetings, intrepid voyager! I’m Alex and will be assisting you in navigating the world concerning everything travel. If you, like many others, find yourself contemplating flight prices and pondering whether or not you are getting the lowest price possible, let me tell you, you’re not alone. I, too, shared the same sentiments- feeling exuberated only to hit a dead end in the form of endless options leaving me perplexed as to which one really is cheaper.

The Problem: Why Finding Flight Deals Feels Like a Maze

Here’s where it gets interesting as you think: Finally, after giving it a good amount of thought, you have an ideal location to visit in mind. You check for flights and prices, and guess what? The prices appearing on your screen are no where close to the normal prices of flights. Sounds like a problem most of us don’t talk about openly, yet people go through this crazy “endless scrolling” phase.

Here is where things tilt a bit on the negatives, airlines are greatly known for the lack of uniformity when it comes to maintaining standard pricing. Dynamic pricing: pricing changes throughout the day or depending on how ‘in-demand’/popular a flight is at any given moment.

Alongside other sneaky costs such as fees for bags or choosing your seat, it is of no surprise that booking the necessary flights feels like being challenged to a mix of multiple puzzles molded into one bad joke.

But don’t worry my friend, this is the part where tools like Hopper and Google Flights help. They are meant to help you save money when booking flights through helping avoid speculation. The real question is, which one should you use? Now let’s review them together.

What is Hopper? Your Personal Flight Predictor

First things first, let’s review Hopper. It currently works as a mobile app that helps users be aware of the prices of flights in the future. Hence, you can consider having a metaphorical crystal ball, as Hopper will warn you when it is time to book flights or wait for better prices. If you want to accept my word, I have been using it for several years and it hasn’t disappointed me.

How Hopper Works

“Hopper analyzes billions of flight prices to tell whether prices are likely to go up or down in the future”. If you have plans to go on a vacation to Paris in half a year’s time, and you try accessing Hopper’s functionalities and it tells you not to worry as in two weeks it is expected to reduce prices by $50. Can you imagine?

My Experience with Hopper

I was preparing for a trip to Japan last year. When I typed in my travel dates into Hopper, it recommended I hold off on booking for three weeks. After following the waiting period, I was amazed to discover that I saved more than $200 on my flight. That’s quite a lot of money I can use on sushi and souvenirs, right?

What is Google Flights? Your Real-Time Flight Search Engine

Next on the agenda is Google Flights. If Hopper serves as your best predictor, then Google Flights is your super-fast search engine. This is a site that provides flight prices in real-time, available on desktop and mobile. When I am in need of precise information without all the extras, I resort to Google Flights.

How Google Flights Works

To display the most competitive prices from airlines and travel agencies, Google Flights collects relevant information. You can look for flights within seconds because of how fast it is. If you can travel on different dates, the tool’s flexible date calendar that also portrays monthly price trends is especially beneficial.

My Experience with Google Flights

I had to get a flight to Chicago two months ago and it was rather urgent. I didn’t have the luxury of time to allow for waiting to optimize pricing, so I utilized Google Flights. In a matter of clicks, I was able to book a flight with reasonable pricing. Stress-free as I would say.

Hopper vs Google Flights for Deals: A Head-to-Head Comparison

With the functionalities they both offer detailed, let us now examine them together. Step by step, I will outline the differences so you are able to make an informed choice.

Ease of Use

Unlike its competitors, Hopper is a mobile app only, which makes it highly special to people on the move. The app is quite user-friendly with a pleasant design. For those who prefer desktops, Google Flights is accessible via a browser, which makes it more versatile. Users will appreciate how quickly the information can be retrieved, along with the clarity of the result format.

Price Predictions

Here, Hopper seems to get the most accolades. I did not encounter any issues with the price estimates provided, especially since these are benchmarked against the historical data available. Contrary to the other applications, Google Flights does not offer estimates for their prices, opting instead to display the current price. This tends to be beneficial when one is running out of time to make a booking.

Deal Notifications

Hopper enables you to add flights to a watchlist, with notifications sent when prices lower. I’ve saved hundreds waiting for these alerts. Google Flights offers some tracking, but is less proactive than Hopper. You will have to monitor your email for changes.

Flexibility

With Hopper, you can temporarily lock a specific price through their “Price Freeze” feature for a nominal fee. This is helpful for a traveler not ready to book but who wants to take advantage of an available deal. Conversely, Google Flights comes with a flexible date calendar that showcases price changes over several months, helpful to travelers willing to shift their schedule.

When Should You Use Hopper?

From what I’ve seen so far, the app that is most useful for the following people is Hopper:

Planning trips in advance: For people scheduling months in advance, Hopper’s price predictions will definitely come in handy.
Budget-conscious travelers: It’s easy to keep track of the deals using Hopper’s watchlist notification feature.
Mobile users: If you are a mobile user, you will want to check out Hopper’s application.

When Should You Use Google Flights?

Google Flights is ideal for:

Last-minute bookings: If you want to book a flight at short notice, Google Flights’ real time prices will certainly be the best.
Desktop users: If you prefer using a computer, Google Flights is easier to access compared to Hopper.
Advanced filters: With Google Flights, you can filter out specific services to a greater extent as compared to other services.

How to Use Hopper and Google Flights Together

Here’s a pro tip: you don’t have to pick just one service. I tend to use Hopper alongside Google Flights, as the two combined offer the most practical and economical advantages. For instance, I’ll utilize Hopper for its predictions to determine when I should book. From there, I’ll switch to Google Flights and check their live pricing, alongside possible filtered selections. Using this method has allowed me to significantly cut down my spending on flights.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Booking Flights

Hopper and Google Flights offer all users a chance to save money and keep sharpening their booking skill. Predatory airlines always have a ‘sweet spot’ where they offer the best pricing, usually in the middle of the offseason.

Waiting until the last minute incurs extra flight and seat selection fees, while blink booking also comes with its own set of problems.

Inaccurate price comparisons on the two platforms also leads to suboptimal spending, does the user really need a seat in first class?

Combining both platforms leads to the perfect blend of intuition, logic, and app navigation that is bound to lead to time and money savings.

My Opinion | Hopper vs Google Flights for Deals

Booking taking hours shouldn’t drain resources both emotionally and financially. I’ve tried multiple platforms and still arrive at the conclusion that my favorite ones offer services on both Google and With Hopper and Google flights, those time and money strains can be alleviated.

While their features differ, I would recommend using both at the same time or interchanging sperate scenarios that can maximize time and resource efficiency.

Hopper vs. Google Flights, don’t keep pondering about, trying them out is the only way to get rid of the stress stemming from planning the perfect flight.